These photos, which are trending on Chinese social media, all have one thing in common -- a big "Costco wholesale" logo featured prominently in the background, often against a deep blue sky.
The American retailer, which
opened its first China store in Shanghai to massive crowds in 2019, has become an unlikely destination for Chinese influencers. But it's not the store's discounted bulk items that's attracting them; instead, they are drawn to what they consider to be its "California vibe."
Nevertheless, some Chinese influencers have come up with creative ways to bring seemingly exotic scenes to their social media feeds -- by taking pictures at places like the Costco Shanghai store. On Xiaohongshu, a fashion and lifestyle app often referred to as China's Instagram, users share tips on how to pose for photos in front of the big box store so it looks as if they are in Los Angeles.
The pointers include wearing bright, casual clothes, carrying pizza and cola as props if you don't have Costco membership, and taking photos in the late afternoon, when the colors appear warmer and more saturated.
Most users are upfront about the fact they're not actually in LA and are merely posing for fun -- with phrases like "Pretending to be in LA" cited frequently in captions. Other popular pandemic-era hashtags include "Pretending to be in Paris" and "Pretending to be in Tokyo," with users posing in foreign-styled shopping streets, cafes, or tea gardens.
For many influencers, this is just another fun way to liven-up their feeds. But the posts are also a painful and vivid reminder of how long China has been shut off from the world. Before the pandemic hit, overseas travel had become a common part of life for China's growing middle class.
In 2019, mainland Chinese tourists made
155 million trips, with Macau, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Myanmar, and the United States being the top destinations. China was also the world's single biggest spender on outbound tourism. According to the United Nations' World Tourism Organization, Chinese tourists spent more than
$254 billion overseas in 2019 -- nearly one-fifth of global tourism spending.
At the height of the pandemic, global travel was brought to a halt, with nations rushing to close borders and cancel international flights. Now, a growing number of countries are opening up and learning to live with the virus after rolling out mass vaccinations. But China is still keeping its borders tightly sealed and doubling down on its zero-Covid policy -- with an aim to completely eradicate the virus from inside the country.
SOURCE:
CNNIMAGE SOURCE:
PIXABAY 
